The theatre, its adult status born of being licenced for beer, wine and liquor, has five auditoriums with reserved seating in oversized chairs with extra legroom — including two rooms with oversized faux leather seats that recline at the touch of a button and Dolby Atmos digital surround sound.

There’s also valet parking.

“There’s a feeling of feeling of intimacy. You feel like it’s a special environment,” said Ellis Jacob, president and CEO of Cineplex Entertainment of the outlet he calls “the most refined movie theatre in North America.”

Fancy words for a movie house, but Jacob is committed to heightening the experience, already adding 11 VIP locations to existing multiplexes, with another opening in Markham later this year and at the Yonge-Eglinton location in 2015.

At the Don Mills complex, there’s a fully licensed lounge with large patio overlooking a shopping street. Moviegoers can drink beer, wine and cocktails there or while seated in a theatre, with prices ranging from $6.50 for a domestic pint to $9.50 for a two-ounce Candy Appletini. In addition to the usual snacks, food ranging from an artisanal cheese board ($11) to a burger ($14) is on offer. If the candy counter doesn’t tempt, there’s a Brownie Explosion sundae for $7.

Servers take orders before the show starts and deliver drinks and food to side tray tables before the lights go down. Some of the seats are made for cuddlers, with no armrests in between.

There’s a $7 to $10 VIP surcharge — half price on Tuesdays — on Cineplex’s basic adult admissions of $12.99 and up (depending on day of the week, time and whether the movie is in 3D).

Jacob says despite pressures from home viewing or VOD on personal devices, people still want to see a movie in a theatre, and VIP screening rooms are an upscale part of the experience.

“As long as we keep raising the bar, staying relevant and giving you an experience you can’t have at home, people are going to come out because people want to be social,” said Jacob. “My analogy is: you have food in your refrigerator, do you stop going out to eat?”

The two-level theatre complex features black-and-white stills of classic films from Warner Bros. archives on the walls, along with a large and colourful close-up artwork of Heath Ledger as Joker in The Dark Knight.

The opening slate of films includes Guardians of the Galaxy, Let’s Be Cops, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Hundred Foot Journey and Expendables 3.

Jacob, who was credited with bringing the first VIP cinemas to Canada with four small theatres added to the Varsity 15 years ago, said patrons with families can visit nearby theatres at Fairview Mall and Eglinton Town Centre.

Although it’s a more expensive movie ticket, Jacob said the VIP concept crosses demographics.

“When we opened Yonge and Dundas VIP I thought the clientele would be older but when I visit it’s usually the 20-to-30-year-olds there,” he said. “They want a quiet intimate time that they spend with their date and the money is not the barrier. It’s more about the freedom to do something in an environment that they feel comfortable in. And nobody is kicking their chairs.”

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